Skyfire (web browser)

Skyfire

Developer(s)	Skyfire Labs, Inc.
Stable release	4.1.0 (Android), June 30, 2011 (2011-06-30) 4.0.0 (iOS), October 13, 2011 (2011-10-13)
Development status	Active
Operating system	Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 iOS 3.1.3, 4.0, 4.1
Available in	English
Type	Mobile browser
License	Payware ($2.99)
Website	www.skyfire.com

Skyfire is a mobile web browser which renders requested web page on a proprietary server and relays it to the browser on the end user's mobile phone which displays the content. Skyfire currently runs on Android and iOS. As of 31 December 2010, it no longer supports Symbian OS or Windows Mobile.

Skyfire comprises two distinct generations of mobile browser technology. In Skyfire's first generation (1.x) browser, a web page is fully rendered by a server separate from the mobile device, similar to the operation of a thin client. This approach is also used by Opera Mini. Skyfire's second generation (2.x) browser employs a hybrid approach, using a conventional rendering of Web pages on the handheld device, but streaming video from Skyfire's servers.

Features

Skyfire is a web browser which operates by rendering requested web page on a proprietary server.

Rendered output is relayed to the browser (running on the end user's mobile phone), which displays the content.

Skyfire 1.x

In Skyfire's first-generation browser, all content is rendered at Skyfire's servers using the Gecko rendering engine before sending the rendered output to the browser. The output is sent as images annotated with interactive items such as links and text-fields.

Consequently, the browser is able to use features from a full desktop web browser without the need to have a powerful mobile device. Features such as Adobe Flash, Silverlight, and QuickTime are usable without additional plug-ins on the device, and can be easily updated server-side without the need to update millions of individual client installations.

Downsides include that the user experience can be adversely affected by the abilities of the Skyfire server. For example, a user with an excellent 3.5G or Wi-Fi connection may still experience slow page loading and unwatchable video. Until December 2009, Skyfire's servers demonstrated few symptoms of limits. Since then, the browser's performance has degraded significantly for users of Skyfire 1.5.

Skyfire 2.x

Skyfire's second generation browser uses the same three-tiered technology, but only for content that cannot be effectively processed at the handheld. Web page text and images, for example, are rendered on the phone. Flash video, on the other hand, is rendered at Skyfire's servers, re-encoded to a device-compatible video format, then relayed to the phone.

Flash video is currently supported with plans to add support for Windows Media, Silverlight, QuickTime, and others.

Skyfire 2.x builds on the open source WebKit layout engine.

Skyfire 3.x

includes more available website support for video

Availability

Skyfire 1.x

The browser is supported on devices of various resolutions, including 240x240, 320x320, QVGA, WQVGA, VGA, and WVGA resolution screens. It runs on touch and non-touch phones.

Although Skyfire 1.x has never been officially available outside the US, Canada, and portions of Western Europe, as of 2010 users worldwide had installed and run the browser. On July 1, 2010, Skyfire implemented restrictions to prevent use from most unsupported areas.

Skyfire 2.x

Skyfire 2.x is available for Android and iOS devices. Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 phones are supported. It is distributed via the Android Market. The iOS version supports any iPhone or iPod Touch running iOS 4 or above.

Unlike 1.x, Skyfire 2.x is not actively limited to a supported area.

The current version is Skyfire 2.x is 2.3.

Skyfire 3.x

Skyfire 3.x is currently available for devices running Android 2.0 or above, or iOS. Devices with Android 1.5 or 1.6 can still use Skyfire 2.3.

Skyfire 4.x and Skyfire Video License Key

Version 4.0 was made available for Android on April 21, 2011. Starting with 4.0, the SkyBar toolbar is now configurable and expandable, enabling users to customize their Skyfire experience. With the new scrollable SkyBar, users now have access to fourteen Skyfire features and have the ability to enable, disable and position each button as desired. Also, eight new feature buttons were added into the SkyBar.

• Twitter – Login here to have one-touch access to Twitter streams. Tweet, search, and check in with the Twittersphere without leaving the Skyfire browser. Watch videos shared on Twitter with one click.
• Groupon – Lets SkyBar deliver nearby deals so users can quickly check on the deal of the day at all times.
• Share – Easily share websites, articles, pictures, videos; feature previously accessible through the Skyfire menu.
• Google Reader – Keeps up with feeds from favorite sites, keeps users informed by constantly checking selected news sites and blogs for new content.
• Sports, News, Finance – Bring one-touch access to recent events.
• Settings – Can be considered a customize button. Use it to enable, disable or position SkyBar features to personal preferences.

Also, with this version, all new customers must download the $2.99 Skyfire Video License Key to use the video feature after a 3-day trial.

Performance and other issues

Skyfire text rendering example 1

Skyfire text rendering example 2

Although the recently-added Android version of Skyfire has been updated to 2.0, Symbian and Windows Mobile are limited to version 1.5. Skyfire 1.5 users have, for more than six months, registered complaints regarding slow page loading and the inability to view web videos without severe frame rate and audio glitches. Though since skyfire has implemented restrictions to prevent use from most unsupported countries, page loading and viewing web videos has improved. Other complaints center on a text-rendering feature that enlarges some text several times its normal size. The original intent was to remove the need for the user to "zoom in" to the text of articles. However, the fragmented and seemingly random nature of the feature requires repeated zooming in to read captions, view pictures, find links and navigate a given website, then zooming out to read an article. The large, pixellated characters thus make even casual browsing (according to one editor's opinion) an awkward proposition. Unlike in prior versions of Skyfire, the text-rendering feature is locked in with no option to turn it off.

A new concern has cropped up as of early June: in conjunction with virtually unplayable video, standard web pages can take between two and three minutes to load.

Windows Mobile support(WMS aka windows mobile support)

In November 2010, Windows Mobile users began reporting that Skyfire would immediately close upon opening, stating "Sorry: Due to strong demand we cannot provide service at this time. Please try again later." Several days later, the Skyfire developers announced that they would be ending support for Symbian and Windows Mobile, and possibly releasing Skyfire 2.x for the Windows Phone 7 and MeeGo platforms at a later date.

Potential security risks

When Skyfire is used to browse websites that use the https encryption protocol, Skyfire decrypts this traffic on their servers. Even though they re-encrypt it before the data is passed to/from the mobile device, this breaks the end-to-end security that https is meant to provide. This causes a potential breach of security, and should thus be avoided when using services that should be kept secure, such as online banking.

The user is given no choice to opt-out of Skyfire's https-decryption, and is not notified of the practise, except for a small note in the EULA which does not explicitly mention https.

Future development

Development of Skyfire 1.x has ceased, with future development concentrated on further developing Skyfire 2.x.

Awards

• 2008 Read Write Web's one of six must have applications for Windows Mobile
• 2008 Laptop Magazine's Mobile Maverick Award
• 2009 Webby People's Voice Award for Best Mobile Application

Further reading

• Roy. App of the Week: Skyfire Loads Flash in a Flash. The New York Times. May 20, 2009
• Kim, Ryan. Skyfire 1.0 Mobile Browser Available Now. The San Francisco Chronicle. May 27, 2009
• Chris. Skyfire Aims High In Battle of Mobile Browsers. The Financial Times. May 27, 2009
• Herman, John. Skyfire Leaves Beta, Steals Windows Mobile Browsing Crown Gizmodo. May 27, 2009
• Kumparak, Greg. Skyfire Burns Through The Beta Tag, Coming Soon For BlackBerry. Tech Crunch.May 27, 2009
• Chris. Skyfire Browser Hits Version 1.0 -- But Not For BlackBerry Just Yet. Engadget Mobile. May 27, 2009
• Zeman, Eric. Skyfire Mobile Browser Reaches 1.0 Release, Officially Kicks Other Browsers' Tails. The Information Week. May 27, 2009
• Jennings, Richi. Skyfire: A Better Handheld Browser? Computerworld. May 27, 2009
• Nations, Daniel. Move Over iPhone, Skyfire 1.0 Has Arrived. About.Com: Web Trends. May 27, 2009
• Dolcourt, Jessica. Skyfire Mobile Browser Reaches 1.0. The Download Blog. May 27, 2009
• Ha, Anthony. Rich Mbile Browser Skyfire Launches Faster Version 1.0. Venture Beat. May 27, 2009
• Tofel, Kevin. Skyfire Mobile Browser Hits the Big 1.0. JK On The Run. May 27, 2009
• Spoonauer, Mark. Skyfire Beta Review Verdict: Sweet Flash Goodness, Lots ‘o Speed.Laptop Magazine.February 13, 2008
• Skyfire 2.0 for iOS sells out in just 5 hours
• Skyfire 3.0 is now available for iPhone

External links

• Official website